The Catholic Church is a cesspoolPost Date: 2018-07-23 15:40:40 by IbJensen4 Comments More than a decade and a half after the septic holding tank was overturned in Boston, the unfathomable noxious waste of sexual abuse by Catholic priests in this country is still seeping out in fetid drips. As a Catholic, I believe that the Church was founded by the apostle St. Peter at the behest of Christ Himself. I also believe that it was for many years and will for many more still remain a cesspool. A month ago, Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington, D.C., was removed from public ministry after credible allegations were made that he had abused a 16-year-old altar boy in 1971. Almost immediately after the announcement was made, it was revealed that at ...

God is not a LibertarianPost Date: 2018-07-11 05:22:33 by Gatlin5 Comments A friend of mine recently requested that I review the video An Introduction to Libertarian Thought presented by David Boaz on the libertarianism.org website. You can view the video for yourself at this link: http://www.libertarianism.org/media/exploring-liberty/introduction- libertarian-thought. My goal was to compare libertarian philosophy with the teachings of Scripture. This article presents the results of that analysis. Mr. Boaz presented three fundamental tenets of libertarianism: individual rights, spontaneous order and limited government. One of these three is blatantly unscriptural. The other two are somewhat more subtle in their error, but ...

More women looking to become 'consecrated virgins', Vatican saysPost Date: 2018-07-07 15:14:34 by hondo684 CommentsThere has been 'rapid' growth in interest in taking vows of lifelong celibacy, Catholic Church says Pope Francis appears before the crowd in St Peter's Square on Easter Sunday An increasing number Catholic women are taking life-long chastity vows in order to dedicate themselves to God, according to the Vatican. The Holy See has issued new guidance on consecrated virginity in response to growing interest across the world in the little-known spiritual vocation. Consecrated virgins are unmarried women who pledge to remain celibate for their entire lives, eschewing romantic or sexual relationships to devote themselves exclusively to being mystical ...

American Millennials Are Leaving Religion Because They're SinnersPost Date: 2018-07-01 22:59:17 by Tooconservative15 Comments Polls can be quite useful. But polls can also cause us to dive down the rabbit hole of interpretation. We often take apart poll numbers and twist ourselves into dialectical pretzels attempting to discern human motivation. At times, our efforts obscure the truth that the answer is quite simple, really. A case in point is Jana Riess' article for Religion News Service in which she explains why American millennials are leaving religion. For one thing, Riess points out that among non-white Protestants the numbers have remained stable. In fact, among some identity sets, the number of religious millennials is growing. Protestants have seen 1.6 percent growth among millennials of color who are ...

Crocodile kills Ethiopian pastor during lake baptismPost Date: 2018-06-05 09:37:22 by Willie Green19 CommentsA crocodile has killed a Protestant pastor who was baptising followers near a lake in southern Ethiopia.Docho Eshete was conducting the ceremony for about 80 people on Sunday morning at Lake Abaya in Arba Minch town's Merkeb Tabya district.Residents and police told BBC Amharic a crocodile leapt from the water during the baptism and attacked him.Pastor Docho died after being bitten on his legs, back and hands."He baptised the first person and he passed on to another one. All of a sudden, a crocodile jumped out of the lake and grabbed the pastor," local resident Ketema Kairo told the BBC.Despite huge efforts, fishermen and residents could not save pastor Docho, policeman Eiwnetu ...

Joel Osteen’s Church Has a $90 Million Annual BudgetPost Date: 2018-06-02 19:29:06 by Deckard3 CommentsPJ Media  by John EllisMega-pastor Joel Osteen may not know theology very well, but he sure knows how to rake in the bucks. To put it another way, Osteen is an expert at getting your down-on-their-luck relatives to hand over their money to his ministry. The proof is in the pudding, so they say, because the Houston Chronicle is reporting that Lakewood Churchs annual budget is around 90 million dollars a year.Lakewood Churchs fiscal budget was revealed during the newspapers series titled The Preachers Son. The series explores the origins and spectacular growth of Houstons Lakewood Church under pastor Joel ...

'It's what Jesus would do': Televangelist asks followers for $54m to buy private jetPost Date: 2018-05-30 11:08:55 by Deckard11 CommentsA televangelist has asked his followers to donate money so he can buy a $54m private jet. Jesse Duplantis, 68, based in Louisiana, sought the donations in a video posted on his ministrys website. You know Ive owned three different jets in my life and used them and used them and just burning them up for the Lord, he said. Now, some people believe that preachers shouldnt have jets. I really believe that preachers ought to go on every available voice, every available outlet, to get this gospel preached to the world. In the video, he points to pictures on the wall of previous jets hes bought, before moving on to the Starship ...

Orthodox Problems with Penal Substitution[Full Thread]Post Date: 2018-05-27 19:35:05 by A Pole46 CommentsFrom book Reconsidering Tulip The penal substitution view was completely absent from the church for over 1,000 years. It was only in the 11th century that Anselm of Canterbury began to introduce the groundwork for this kind of theology to the West. Nor was it fully developed into the doctrine we now know as penal substitution until the 16th-century Reformers came along. To this day it has never been accepted in the east (nor has it ever been fully accepted by the Roman Catholics). 1. Penal substitution compromises the deity of Christ and puts a rift in the Trinity If Christ died for, and is our solution to, our sins against god the Father, then what about our sins against ...

Can a pope change moral truth?Post Date: 2018-05-22 10:44:21 by redleghunter12 CommentsThat joking retort we heard as children, Is the pope Catholic? is starting to look like a serious question. Asked five years ago about a gay lobby in the Vatican, Pope Francis responded, If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge? As judgment was thought to be part of the papal job description, traditional Catholics were startled at what the new pope had volunteered. Now the Holy Father has apparently fleshed out what he meant. According to a childhood victim of a pedophile priest in Chile, Juan Carlos Cruz, a homosexual to whom the pope apologized, Francis said: God made you like this and loves you like this and I ...

Mormons asked children invasive questions about sexPost Date: 2018-05-06 11:15:48 by Willie Green5 CommentsAustralian children as young as 12 are being asked explicit questions about their sexual thoughts and whether they masturbate, as adult male religious figures in the Mormon church use one-on-one interviews to test children's sexual "purity".The invasive questioning has been described as an "abuse" of children, according to leaked correspondence from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.Mormons regard sexual purity as a key tenet of their faith and regard breaches  sex out of marriage, sex between gay couples, even masturbation  as being next to murder in terms of sinfulness.Stephanie McLean, who was brought up in the ...

The Empty TombPost Date: 2018-03-30 14:04:18 by redleghunter31 Comments Click for Full Text!Poster Comment:He is Risen!

State-Enforced Paganism in AmericaPost Date: 2018-03-29 09:52:40 by Deckard6 CommentsRecently the Huffington Post published an interview with Malcom Brenner, who had sex with a dolphin. He defended his bestiality, saying: And Im hoping that in a more enlightened future, zoophilia will be no more regarded as controversial or harmful than interracial sex is today. For those who have watched the steady descent of the sexual revolution into an abyss of deviancy, there is not much that surprises. Many predicted the results of following the If it feels good, do it mantra of the 60s would mean open season on all Christian sexual mores. They have watched as the so-called freedom of sexual choice has become so absolute that even pedophilia is viewed ...

Does The Celestial-Geophysical-Historical Time Clock Provide Evidence For An Easter Crucifixion & Resurrection?Post Date: 2018-03-28 09:15:53 by Deckard18 CommentsIs there any evidence outside of the Bible that the Resurrection of Jesus was a real historical event rather than a myth or an allegory? Unfortunately, there is no time machine to go back in history and confirm this event that is memorialized in the way the western world divides modern from ancient history, B.C and A.D. However there is, surprisingly, evidence revealed from celestial, geophysical and historical accounts outside of the Bible that confirm this event. According to Wikipedia, Easter (aka Resurrection Sunday) is a remembrance of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead (~30 A.D.) as described in the New Testament. Jesus was crucified, that is, hung on a wooden cross, nailed ...

Catholic bishop denies Senator Durbin communion until he repentsPost Date: 2018-02-24 10:21:06 by Tooconservative0 Comments A Catholic bishop in Senator Dick Durbins Illinois diocese has issued a statement that Durbin will be denied communion until he repents for his sin of blocking a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks. Finally, a pro-abortion Democrat is being held accountable for political votes by the Catholic church. Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois says Durbin is cooperating in evil and persisting in manifest grave sin because of his abortion advocacy and must therefore not be admitted to Holy Communion until he repents of his sin. In a statement on the Diocese of Springfield website, Bishop Paprocki said, Fourteen ...

They called me a stupid German whorePost Date: 2018-02-18 23:40:05 by rlk8 CommentsThe following is a documentation of an interview with the German artist, activist for the rights of indigenous peoples, and UN advisor Rebecca Sommer, by the Polish website EuroIslam from January 18, 2018. Rebecca used to support Muslim refugees in Germany, and describes how her experience made her gradually change her mind over core issues. It is a long text but well worth the read. Please note that there is currently a mistranslation circulating, claiming that she said to she was moving to Poland. This is inaccurate; she said she knows Germans who are moving to Poland. Thanks to Ava Lon for the translation. Natalia Osten-Sacken: Rebecca, youve worked many years with ...

Pastor Begley: Melania Trump Demanded Spiritual Cleansing of WH, Removal of Pagan, Demonic IdolsPost Date: 2018-02-11 09:29:03 by 3-Dee9 CommentsPastor Begley: Melania Trump Demanded Spiritual Cleansing of WH, Removal of Pagan, Demonic Idols While commenting on President Donald Trump's very public support for Christianity, as well as the frequent Bible studies and prayer gatherings held at the White House, evangelical Pastor Paul Begley said first lady Melania Trump demanded that the White House be spiritually cleansed and that pagan, demonic items and artificats from the Obama and Clinton years be removed. Melania Trump reportedly said, "Im not going to go into that White House unless it has been completely exorcised," according to Pastor Begley. One thing was left, a cross on the wall. "They cleansed the ...

First-century Mark: More Information! Post Date: 2018-01-30 14:29:37 by redleghunter14 CommentsBack in 2012 there were statements a fragment from the Gospel of Mark was found in a mummy mask. Initial dating estimates put the date within the 1st Century AD. Below is an update on the latest information and why the process to publish the results have been delayed. Remember the announcement in 2012 about the existence of a first-century manuscript-fragment from the Gospel of Mark? Here we are five years later, and after various rumors have come and gone, it has still not been published. This has led some folks to suspect that the announcement might have been premature, or that the dating must be wildly inaccurate, or even that it was all some sort of groundless claim. ...

Pope Francis slams Fake News, DisinformationPost Date: 2018-01-24 18:36:05 by hondo686 CommentsPope Francis releases 2018 World Communications Day messageIn his message for the World Communications Day 2018, Pope Francis calls for a journalism for peace in response to the threat of fake news, which thrives on the absence of healthy confrontation with other sources of information. Pope Francis on Wednesday released his message for World Communications Day, which is held annually on the Sunday before Pentecost, falling this year on 13 May 2018. The truth will set you free (Jn 8:32). Fake news and journalism for peace is the theme of the Popes message. The Holy Father explores what makes fake news fake, how to recognize it, ...

New Libertarian Convert Asks Ron Paul Into His HeartPost Date: 2018-01-16 05:34:26 by Gatlin21 Comments KANSAS CITY, MOWhile browsing memes on a popular libertarian meme Facebook page, local man Kyle Coats reportedly felt himself cut to the heart Wednesday, grabbing a Gadsden flag he had recently purchased and darting outside into the afternoon sun where he dropped to his knees and asked Ron Paul to come into his heart, once and for all, fully committing his life to the ideals of liberty he stands for. The man bowed his head and closed his eyes and asked the popular libertarian leader to come into his life and reign as his lord and savior. Ron, would you come into my life and make me new? he whispered privately to himself, a single tear streaming down his ...

All Hail The Chronic: Introducing Bizarre Pot ChurchesPost Date: 2018-01-13 10:27:09 by Tooconservative6 Comments Prepare ye, the way of the chronic. Welcome to the age of marijuana-laden church services, where stoners gather to worship God by getting high, according to California Healthline. Breathe deep and blow harder," Pastor Grant Atwell tells those in his congregation as he passes out marijuana joints. Nail the insight down, whether you get it from marijuana or prayer. Consider what in your own life you are thankful for. Thank you, God, for the weed, responds a middle-aged man. Im thankful for the spirit of cannabis, says one woman. I am grateful to be alive, says another. Though the church adopts some Christian symbolism and ...

Evangelical Christians 'uncritical' in support for Trump, senior bishop says Post Date: 2017-12-28 07:37:00 by IbJensen0 CommentsPaul Bayes, bishop of Liverpool, accuses some religious leaders of colluding with a system that marginalises the poor A senior Church of England bishop has lambasted conservative evangelical Christians in the US for their uncritical support of Donald Trump, urging them to reflect on how their endorsement of the president relates to their faith. Paul Bayes, the bishop of Liverpool, said self-styled evangelicals risked bringing the word evangelical into disrepute, and added there was no justification for Christians contradicting Gods teaching to protect the poor and the weak. Bayes told the Guardian: Some of the things that have been said ...

Merry Christmas to all (even the snowflakes)Post Date: 2017-12-25 00:36:34 by GrandIsland11 CommentsI would like to wish all the posters and their families a very Merry Christmas and a healthy New Years. I would also like to take this opportunity to personally thank A K A Stone for allowing me to post my opinions on his forum. Poster Comment:Even you, Deckard, Hondo, Bucky and tpaine.

Evangelical leader asks how white Christians can support TrumpPost Date: 2017-12-18 11:02:51 by Willie Green9 CommentsHELENA, Ark.  I can remember moments of spiritual euphoria from my youthful days in church when I raised my hands toward the ceiling, closed my eyes, and received a vision from the Holy Spirit, one of blacks and whites equal and united.It was a recurring image in my mind in those days of heightened religious zeal, and adulthood never stole the dream from me. I remained convinced that the teachings of the Christian faith held the greatest promise for overcoming racism.This is a common desire among Christians of all political stripes. I grew up in a conservative evangelical culture, and many right-wing Republicans I knew believed that Christianity had the potential to tear down the ...